Homeland Security orders full-body scans, pat-downs in airports

Tuesday

Nov 16, 2010 at 12:01 AMNov 16, 2010 at 4:20 PM

Flying for the holidays may be a more touchy-feely experience now that the Department of Homeland Security has ordered full-body scans and physical pat-downs. Read what travelers, pilots and TSA members are saying about them.

Joe Sinopoli

Flying for the holidays may be a more touchy-feely experience now that the Department of Homeland Security has ordered full-body scans and physical pat-downs.

Meanwhile, groups representing passengers and pilots have drawn a line, and they say the government has crossed it in terms of privacy. The new measures announced last month include X-ray full-body scans and physical pat-downs by agents from the Transportation Security Agency agents that are of the same gender as travelers.

John Marcheschi from Glen Ellyn, Ill., said he has gone through the new procedure three times.

“It did take more time,” Marcheschi said. “It was a lot slower than other scanners, like before the metal detector lines.”

Marcheschi said he did not realize he would be going through the new scanner line when he arrived at the airport. While he said he was not necessarily bothered by the body scans, he is not convinced of the efficiency.

“I’m not overly confident the added measures do anything,” he said. “I think it might detect someone who may have accidentally left a pocket knife in their pocket. I don’t know if they prevent someone who really wants to do some harm.”

Karen Clyde, spokeswoman for the Chicago Department of Aviation, said there are 23 of the new scanners at O’Hare International Airport, but Chicago Midway Airport does not have any of the full-body scanners.

Pilots, who are constantly boarding aircrafts, are not exempt from the new measures.

According to the Washington-based Air Line Pilots Association, International, several discussions have been held in regards to pilots being subjected to the added measures with Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano and TSA Administrator John Pistole.

The association contends that the “screening by Advanced Imaging Technology machines and/or pat-down searches is the latest change in a long line of ever-increasing security measures that have frustrated and burdened airline pilots.”

Pilots are subjected to extensive background checks with the FBI, and thousands of pilots are deputized Federal Flight Deck Officers who are authorized to carry arms, so scanning them for concealed weapons may seem pointless.

While the new measures may be opposed for reasons of inconvenience, other opponents may have a more visceral reaction to being scanned or touched.

John P. Staeck, professor of anthropology at College of DuPage in Illinois, said there are some cultural elements involved in the issue.

“Americans are raised to be very private about some things,” Staeck said. “If you look at the structure of our houses, ideally everyone gets their own bedroom, we’ve blocked off our bathroom. Everybody has private, personal space. Americans tend to like to have a little more personal space than other people.”

There are also religious reasons as to why some have a greater aversion to scans and pat-downs than others.

“A number of different religions in the world emphasize modesty,” Staeck said. “The body is meant to be covered. A full body scan can be perceived to be a violation of that.”

John Augustine, faculty coordinator in the criminal justice department at Triton College in Illinois, said searches in general can be broken into two groups: probable cause and suspicion-less searches.

“In terms of law enforcement, you’re patting someone down for the safety of an officer based upon the assumption of probable cause,” Augustine said. “If you have to subject yourself to suspicion-less searches, you can accept it or not, and you can choose not to get on the airplane.”

While there needs to be a measure of reason for a law enforcement officer to conduct a search, the same is not true at the airport.

“I think the difference is the TSA is saying, ‘If you want to participate in any travel, you are going to have to submit to this search.’ In terms of how invasive the search is, (travelers) can be upset. But it’s like, ‘It’s my ball. If you want to play, you play by my rules.’” Augustine said. “I think with most people, there is no connection to the risk involved. They don’t see the connection between the threat on these airplanes to the actual amount of searching they are going through.”